Work addiction as a predictor of anxiety and depression

Work. 2021;68(3):779-788. doi: 10.3233/WOR-203411.

Abstract

Background: A worker's work habits can affect their health, both physically and psychologically. Negative results have been associated with work demands (stress, anxiety and depression).

Objective: In the present research we carried out a predictive study of work addiction by applying three questionnaires on depression and anxiety.

Methods: In this study, the participants were 332 workers, obtained through non-probabilistic sampling. The FACTOR (version 7.2) and SPSS 23.0 programs were used.

Results: The results of the correlation analysis show both positive and negative associations with the variables studied. We conclude that work addiction variables can predict anxiety and depression because we found that two variables predict 18.3% of depression and 20.3% of anxiety, which are feelings generated by work and excessive work.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that feelings generated by work and excessive work predict anxiety and depression, thus the present research helps to broaden knowledge on work addiction, promoting a healthy lifestyle and prevent absenteeism.

Keywords: Workaholism; anxiety; depression; health; stress.

MeSH terms

  • Absenteeism
  • Anxiety / epidemiology
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Behavior, Addictive* / epidemiology
  • Depression* / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Surveys and Questionnaires